Hibernian appoint Pat Fenlon as successor to Colin Calderwood

The 42 year old has won five League of Ireland titles and three cups with Shelbourne and Bohemians, but as now made the move across the Irish sea to take on the challenge at Hibs in the Scottish Premier League.

After the news was announced, Fenlon said: “I’m really excited by the prospect of managing Hibernian; a club with a rich history and proud traditions. When I came to Easter Road in March for a friendly match, while I was in charge of Bohemians, I saw close-up the tremendous potential of the club.

“But in order to move Hibernian forward there will need to be a lot of hard work and a clear change in mindset shown collectively by the team. There are a lot of quality players on Hibernian’s playing staff and it is now my job to make sure they function as a team.

“The primary goal is to provide winning football to the Hibernian supporters, who have gone through some hard times recently. But we will also try to entertain our fans in the process and put a smile on their faces.

“I’m looking forward to put into practice all that I’ve learned during my nine years as a manager over in Ireland and will be giving everything I’ve got into assembling a successful Hibernian team that everybody connected to the club can be proud of.”

Fenlon has been manager of Bohemians since 2007 and had been linked with a move to the SPL three times, he was lined up to become the Dundee United manager in January 2007 after Craig Levein was appointed Scotland manager, but compensation could not be agreed between the two sides. He was also linked with the Kilmarnock and Motherwell positions thereafter.

But Hibs managed to secure the Irishman’s services and Chairman Rod Petrie commented: “Put simply, Pat Fenlon is a winner. He has a record of winning championships and cups at different clubs, and his teams have competed regularly in Europe. This pedigree is matched by the ambition Hibernian has for sporting success.

“We are all excited about what the team and supporters can achieve together under Pat Fenlon.”

Meanwhile former Hibernian manager Colin Calderwood has been appointed assistant manager to Chris Hughton at Championship side Birmingham City.

“We very much welcome him here,” said Hughton. “He’s somebody I know very well from my time at Tottenham and I took him to Newcastle with me. We would have liked to bring him in before but of course at that stage he was contracted to Hibernian. The opportunity has now come about and that being the case I didn’t hesitate.

“He’s also somebody that Paul Trollope knows very well and for me that makes things even better because the three of us will work very closely together. There are enough games this season and enough work and it allows us to do more.

“He’s an individual of very good experience at different levels in the game and he’s coached and managed. He’s gained great respect from the people he worked with and he’ll be a wonderful addition to the staff. Colin for me completes the coaching staff that I’ve got.”

We would like to hear from Hibs fans on the appointment of Pat Fenlon and what you are hoping to achieve under his tenure?

About Author

Andy Muirhead is the Editor of Scotzine and the Scottish Football fanzine FITBA. He is the Scottish Football columnist for The Morning Star and has written for a number of other publications including ESPN, Huffington Post UK, BT Life's a Pitch and has had his work featured in the Daily Record, The Scotsman and the Daily Mail.